17 August 2018•Update: 17 August 2018
By Godfrey Olukya
ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo
An international arrest warrant has been issued by the government of Democratic Republic of Congo against a senior politician and millionaire.
The warrant was issued late Thursday for Moise Katumbi, a politician who has been living in exile but was denied entry when he sought to return to the country to run for president later this year.
The warrant was issued because the country’s leaders “fear that he might win,'' said William Kasani, a member of Katumbi's political organization.
Security officer Lt. Stephen Kinguli told Anadolu Agency: "Katumbi is a fugitive and he must be arrested as soon as he is on the national territory. ''
Some opposition leaders condemned the warrant. Delly Sesanga, the secretary general for Katumbi’s coalition, said that it is ridiculous for the Democratic Republic of Congo to ask other countries to arrest him.
After resigning as governor of the Katanga province in 2015, Katumbi started a political organization called Together for Change. In June 2016, he was convicted, in absentia, of selling a house that was not his and sentenced to 36 months in jail. He never returned to the country.
This May Katumbi was accused of inciting rebellion. On Aug. 3, Katumbi was blocked from entering the Democratic Republic of Congo via the border with Zambia. However, he was greeted by thousands of his supporters in the Zambian portion of the town of Kasumbalesa, bordering his country.
